Your Retirement Security: Adele Tagaloa Becomes OCERS Chair
A union is strong when we leverage our greatest strength, our strength in numbers. This is also true when we are talking about the retirement security of County public workers. Your pension is administered and governed by a nine-person Board of Trustees. Two of these OCERS Trustees are directly elected by you and your co-workers. Currently, you are served by two tireless advocates for retirement security, Trustees Chris Prevatt and Adele Tagaloa. Chris and Adele, along with the other Trustees, work to ensure all County public workers can retire with dignity.
Periodically we provide an update on the latest news about your retirement security!
ADELE TAGALOA BECOMES 2024 OCERS CHAIR!
OCEA Board Member Adele Tagaloa—who was twice-elected to the OCERS Board of Trustees to protect your retirement security—was selected by her fellow trustees as Board Chair for 2024. Adele is the first woman of color, and second woman overall, to become Chair in nearly 80 years of OCERS existence.
Adele, who works as a Vote Center Lead at the Registrar of Voters, says her priorities as chair include good governance of OCERS plans and fiduciary responsibility to OCERS members, membership education, and leading transparent monthly OCERS Board meetings. It is also the Chair’s responsibility to appoint members to internal committees, including personnel, audits, and the headquarters building committee.
“All OCERS members should know what is needed to retire long before they plan to retire,” Adele says.” They should also know what their retirement plan provides for them, and what to do to make sure they can retire with dignity.”
Over her years on the OCERS Board, Adele says she has trained for more than 200 hours to navigate the pension system. She participates at the County level (OCERS Board), the State level (SACRS Board, where she is Vice President), and nationally (NCPERS) to help keep Orange County updated and at the forefront in the arena of public-employee pensions.
It’s a role Adele says she feels humbled to fulfill.
“For our union members who are cleaning offices, working with homeless residents, protecting abused children, serving in law enforcement, caring for animals at the OC Zoo—there are so many people who could have chosen something different to do, but they chose public service. I’m working for these members,” she says.
“It’s time to bring forward more labor-friendly women and men to speak to our trustees. The trustees need to be reminded it’s not just a check we’re writing you to invest. This is hard-earned money from union people,” she added. “With trustees who have a union background, and bringing in speakers that have a union background, that’s huge. That’s my goal as chair. To make this an example of what we do.”
(Pictured at top from left to right: OCERS Chair Adele Tagaloa at her first meeting; Incoming OCERS Chair Adele Tagaloa receiving the gavel from outgoing OCERS Chair Shawn Dewane.)
IRISS FOR OCERS IN 2024!
Your OCEA Board of Directors recently took a step to further secure your retirement benefits by endorsing IRISS BARRIGA for the OCERS General Member seat that will be up for election in 2024.
The OCERS Board is made up of 10 members, two of whom are current OCEA members, Chris Prevatt and Adele Tagaloa. Chris will retire this year and has prepared Iriss to fight for you retirement—just as he has over the last decade. Iriss began her career with the County in 1997 as an extra help office assistant. Today, she’s a Child Support Specialist at Child Support Services. She’s been a Trustee of the OCEA Health & Welfare Trust since 2019 and a member of the OCEA Board of Directors since 2021. Through her career and her union activism, Iriss has found her purpose as a protector for some of Orange County’s most vulnerable children and now as a leader for the working families of OCEA.
“When I started at the County, I thought I was too young to think about retirement, until someone I worked with explained the retirement formula and contributions. Knowing that I have my retirement makes me feel more financially secure,” Iriss said. “I want to run for the OCERS trustee position because I want to put my experience to use making decisions that benefit our members’ retirement. I’m committed. I give a lot of my time to co-workers and OCEA members. This is the next extension of that.”
Iriss will make sure members have a voice on the OCERS Board, but we need your help to get her there. The election will occur in June 2024 and we must spread the word to vote for Iriss! More information about the election and ways you can take action will come in the following months.
(Pictured above: OCERS Trustees / OCEA Board Members Chris Prevatt and Adele Tagaloa with OCEA Board Member Iriss Barriga, your OCEA-endorsed candidate for OCERS in 2024.)
ARE YOUR BENEFICIARIES UP TO DATE?
When you became a member of OCERS, you were asked to designate a beneficiary who is entitled to receive certain benefits that may be payable upon your death. If it’s been some time since you’ve checked that your beneficiary designations are accurate and up to date, please log in to myOCERS to name, review or change your beneficiary.
You can also update beneficiaries by downloading the form at this link, and mailing it it. You can also request a form be mailed to you by calling 714-558-6200.
In Solidary,
OCEA
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
